Even though court stenographer Dan Steinberg disagrees, losing key players is tough on a team and its offense. I, too, am shocked at how many shutouts we have experienced this season. The Washington Post lost George Solomon, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to retirement and free agency and the sports department hasn’t been the same since – not as many points on the board – but they have lost about the same amount of people as most newspapers these days. Rim shot.

Kornheiser and Wilbon haven’t put “points on the board” for the Post since the Caps moved away from Landover. Using Leonsis’ pretzel logic, you could rejigger his statement to read:

The Washington [Capitals] lost [Olaf Kolzig, Peter Bondra and Adam Oates] to retirement and free agency and the [team] hasn’t been the same since – not as many [wins in the playoffs] – but they have lost about the same amount of people as most [franchises] these days. Rim shot.

That isn’t to say I prefer the Caps of yore to today’s. Quite the opposite, actually. I also prefer today’s Post sports vs. yesteryear’s. It may not feature glory hog columnists like the PTI two, but it does have a stable of reporters who not only write stories for print but also blog on the website and tweet real-time updates. That stable includes Steinberg, the so-called court stenographer who is a top online sportswriting talent.

I like Leonsis. His high level of transparency is to be encouraged, as is his forward-thinking approach to ownership as a whole, from the ice/hardwood to the web, community and beyond. I also applaud his willingness to mix it up with fans and the media alike.

Along those lines, this isn’t the first time Leonsis has taken a shot at the Post, though it probably is the most personal one. If one were so inclined, one could string together a narrative of Leonsis’ Post-bashing that would look similar to what Steinberg did with Leonsis’ injury moans.

But why bother? Everyone knows print media is a dying industry and pro sports is not. Pointing that out — over and over again — isn’t transparency, it’s petulance.

Disclosures: I’m friends with Steinberg, and we co-hosted the Blog Show together on Comcast SportsNet. I also have great respect for Leonsis as an Internet Hall of Famer, and he was my boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss at AOL.

Agreed. It’s not like The Post dislikes or is out to get Leonsis. By any measure, he’s a reporter’s dream, it seems from out here. Ted is unnecessarily paranoid. Plus, Wilbon always sucked, and Kornheiser hasn’t been funny since the 80s.

It is so petty of Leonsis, no need for it. I think he’s still bitter about the way AOL as covered during the TimeWarner era. As for departed columnists, addition by subtraction, though their replacements haven’t distinguished themselves. What is it going to take for Barry Svrluga to get a column?

I think this shows Leonsis leaning on his popularity a little too much these days. Taking the bully pulpit because he assumes that people will give him the benefit of the doubt, way to call him on that Jamie. Being the most likable sports owner in DC is like winning a World’s Tallest Dwarf Contest – there’s been no competition and his status has been assumed on many occasions.

Ted is heading into a crucial period of his sports ownership career. The Caps have to succeed in the playoffs or they’ll start losing steam with the general DC area sports fan (with their ticket prices on the rise again). The Wizards need a complete re-boot of every single aspect of the franchise other than John Wall. Good luck Ted, you’ll need it as much as The Post.

Wilbon: What a stupid statement. Leonsis is crazy, okay? You can’t listen to anything he says. Ted is a good friend of mine, okay? He’s a good good good good friend. Am I surprised he said something like that? Not in the least. That’s what he does. So don’t come in here bringing that junk about Leonis being crazy. He’s supposed to be crazy!

Do you know how many man games the BLACKHAWKS have lost to injuries this year? TOO MANY!

Injuries… please. why are we even discussing this at this time of the year when we should be focused on the incredible state of events over at the BULLS court. How there is any debate as to Derick Rose being MVP is beyond me. now get that garbage junk about hockey injuries outta here.

Wilbon: The Japanese tsunami, please, I saw that one coming a mile away. Who didn’t? What’s surprising to me is how the Japanese people couldn’t see this coming. I remember years ago when the tsunami hit Banda Aceh, I was like “here we go again, another group of people who some may say deserved what they got for the way they lived are gonna suffer because noone but me saw this coming.” My only question now is how many people are going to get radiation poisoning because no one listens to me?

Wise: What Washington needs to realize is how every, single, person, here, is complicit in the Middle East unrest. Only when everyone takes up arms to forcibly tear down any remnant of any evidence that the football teams was named the Redskins and replace them with temples to Coach K, can we hope to live in a world that has peace in the Middle East. And until that happens, shame on you motherfuckers. Blood is on your hands. I wrote for the New York Times.